At A Glance

Whether you want to perform in our ensembles, pursue a career in music, or both, a Carthage music education will help you reach new heights.

Majors & Degrees Offered

  • Bachelor of Arts in Music (emphases available in Vocal Performance, Instrumental Performance, Piano Pedagogy, and Music Composition)
  • Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano
  • Bachelor of Music in Music Education

Minor

    • Music

Interdisciplinary Offering

View Degree Requirements

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Earn your music degree at Carthage

Recognizing that the study of music is essential to the full realization of human creativity and expression, the Carthage Music Department creates challenging opportunities for students that advance musical excellence and foster lifelong musical engagement.

Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, the Carthage program will challenge you to accelerate your musical progression and forge a lifelong connection with music. You’ll grow by performing in choral or instrumental concerts, musicals, and operas while interacting with talented professors and world-class guest artists and conductors.

Carthage music degree concert band performers. Performance Opportunities for music majors

Carthage music majors are actively involved in music-making and learning through participation in ensembles and workshops. Carthage offers five choral ensembles, two wind bands, a philharmonic orchestra, a jazz ensemble, a pep band, and many other small ensemble experiences. Carthage also presents yearly Main Stage musicals and operas, as well as musical theatre and opera workshops.

  • <div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"> <source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.webp 3x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.jpg 3x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.jpg" alt="Avery Morris ?24" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,616,719/36565_Avery_Morris_24.rev.1671038352.jpg 3x" data-max-w="616" data-max-h="719" loading="lazy"/> </picture> </div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “If you love kids, have a passion for music, and have the desire to share that passion through teaching, I would recommend music education. Our faculty are amazing, and you will learn a lot.”</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/2229-avery-morris">Avery Morris</a> ’24</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>
  • <div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"> <source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.webp 3x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.jpg 3x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.jpg" alt="Adam Blackwood" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1840,2760/37361_7150_163701665847155.rev.1679618195.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1840" data-max-h="2760" loading="lazy"/> </picture> </div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “I chose Carthage because I was amazed by how friendly and welcoming it felt when auditioning for the music scholarships.”</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/2347-adam-blackwood">Adam Blackwood</a> ’24</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>
  • <div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"> <source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.webp 3x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.jpg 3x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.jpg" alt="Jana Paulsen" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1600,2400/38650_10560_163701665847155.rev.1697727761.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1600" data-max-h="2400" loading="lazy"/> </picture> </div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “The Music Department here at Carthage is pretty phenomenal. All of the music faculty are here for you and your success. Not to mention, music students here are excellent and are here for you!””</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/2546-jana-paulsen">Jana Paulsen</a> ’26</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>
  • <div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"> <source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,407,460/36510_Nathan.rev.1670519367.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,407,460/36510_Nathan.rev.1670519367.webp 2x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,407,460/36510_Nathan.rev.1670519367.jpg 2x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,407,460/36510_Nathan.rev.1670519367.jpg" alt="Nathan Koehlert ?24" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/88/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,407,460/36510_Nathan.rev.1670519367.jpg 2x" data-max-w="407" data-max-h="460" loading="lazy"/> </picture> </div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “I recommend majoring in music performance because you get to learn how to become a better musician, not just in singing or playing your instrument — you also get to learn how to conduct.”</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/2219-nathan-koehlert">Nathan Koehlert</a> ’24</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>

Our Prestigious Music Faculty

Carthage music faculty members hold advanced degrees from some of the world’s most prestigious institutions. Faculty include some of the finest performer-teachers in the Milwaukee-Chicago urban corridor. Many perform or have performed with the Lyric Opera, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or Chicago Civic Orchestra.

Learn from World-Class Performers

Music majors learn through personal interactions with faculty and guest musicians. Musicians who have visited Carthage include

  • Opera singers Nicole Cabell and Dean Peterson ’75
  • Voice specialist Donald Miller
  • Steinway Artist Stephen Swedish
  • “Lion King actor Tonoccus McClain
  • Voice pedagogist Keith Bozeman
  • Violinist Frank Almond
  • Composers Rollo Dilworth, Jocelyn Hagen, Libby Larsen, Jonathan Newman, Alex Shapiro, Frank Ticheli, and Eric Whitacre
  • The Aspen Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Manhattan Brass, Ying Quartet, and Zemlinsky Quartet.

Easy access to world-class performances in Milwaukee and Chicago further extend the Carthage learning experience. Touring opportunities include the Midwestern states, Japan, South America, and Europe.

Academic Choices for music majors & Minors

Carthage offers a Bachelor of Arts in Music with emphases in music education, performance, and piano pedagogy, as well as a bachelor of arts with an emphasis in music theatre. Music majors interested in pursuing a music major or minor are required to audition for acceptance to the program. The College offers scholarships to music majors, minors, and non-majors by audition. Those auditions will take place in February.